Name:

smithsonite

A photo of the mineral smithsonite

Class:

Carbonates

Chemistry:

ZnCO3 Zinc Carbonate

Color(s):

white, colorless, blue, green, yellow, purple, pink, brown, Streak: white

Hardness:

4 - 5

SpecGrav:

4.3 - 4.5

Fracture:

conchoidal

Cleavage:

complete

Crystal:

trigonal (often pseudomorphic) usually botryoidal

Envronment:

Secondary zinc mineral forms in oxidized zone of hydrothermal replacements

Association:

galena, cerussite, malachite, calcite, dolomite

Locals:

Namibia | Austrailia | Greece | Germany | S.W. Africa | | Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas/USA |

Misc:

soluble in warm acid (bubbles), named after Mineralogist James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution.

Photos
& Locals:

1.) 79 Mine, Hayden, Arizona
2.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa
3.) 79 Mine, Hayden, Arizona
4.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa
5.) 79 Mine, Hayden, Arizona
6.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa
7.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa (Closeup)

8.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa
9.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa(closeup)
10.) Arkansas
11.) Arkansas (closeup)
12.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa
13.) Tsumeb, S.W. Africa (closeup)

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